Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, is fast becoming an unlikely godfather to Las Vegas, the city I live in.  Unlike the mafia bosses of the thirties, such as Bugsy Siegel, who helped turn Vegas into a gaming boomtown, Hsieh is attempting to turn Vegas into a Tier II technology startup destination, like Boulder, CO.

Unlike Boulder however, which rose to prominence due to the efforts of VCs like Brad Feld trying to catalyze a startup scene, Hsieh is trying to use the sheer size of Zappos to make a differenceHis ambitions, moreover, extend far beyond just creating a tech scene.

He wants to revitalize Las Vegas and make it an attractive hub for what urbanist Richard Florida calls the "Creative Class."